Kagome's Pack
by mysticladyrachel
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha are engaged, but before they can wed, they must find Kagome's father. They face new dangers, discover where all the youkai in modern Tokyo are hiding, and meet up with Kagome's father and his pack, led by none other than Ayame.
1. Kagome's Father

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the character thereof. **_

_**So I'm writing this because I am having an amazing bought of writers block when it comes to my Avatar: the Last Air Bender fic, My Sword, which no longer fits with the storyline of the show. This is actually a combination of concepts from two different fics I began but never finished, one about searching for Kagome's father and another about Rin coming through the well and getting lost in modern day Japan. I hope you all have as much fun reading this as I plan on having while writing it. XD**_

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"Kagome," he said softly. He sounded nervous, but not like he did when he thought he was going to get 'sat'. It was more the anticipatory kind of nervous, equally full of hope and fear. She'd heard that tone only once before, when he asked her whether or not she had decided to stay in her time the day they'd completed the jewel.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she said, turning to look at him. He looked every bit as nervous as he sounded.

"I... well, um... I want to show you something," he said, slipping his clawed hand into hers. She followed him out of the village to the edge of the forest. She thought perhaps he was taking her to the Goshinboku, but she was surprised when they walk right past in into the forest beyond. She might have been nervous except that Inuyasha kept glancing at her with a happy light in his eyes.

"Inuyasha, is it much farther?" she asked. It was pretty late in the day, and she was pretty tired already. As nice as a stroll through the forest with her hanyou was, she needed a break.

He stopped and looked at her, then looked in the direction they were heading, as though he were carefully considering something. After a long pause, he nodded and knelt, signaling that she should get on his back. Within moments, they were sailing from tree to tree. She was immediately glad she'd spoken up, because even at their new speed, it took several minutes to reach their destination.

When he came to a stop in the clearing, she gasped and stared in awe. In the center of a small field was a tree that rivaled the Goshenboku in size, it's branches spreading out in a wide umbrella of pink blossoms. It was back lit by the soft pink and purple glow of the setting sun, and the whole scene had an unearthly beauty. It didn't hurt that a stunningly handsome hanyou stood to one side, smiling that soft smile he reserved just for her, looking like the magic prince from some fairytale.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, unable to look away.

"Yeah, spring is finally here..." he said, suddenly looking nervous again, "You know, Kagome, you and I have been together a long time..."

She frowned and looked at him, searching his amber eyes for clues as to what was going on in his head. What was he getting at? Should she be worried?

"Yeah."

"... and well... now that the Shikon no Tama is complete and safely hidden in your time... and with Naraku gone, well... you're duty has been fulfilled, right?" he asked, running a clawed hand through his hair nervously.

She gave him a puzzled look, "I guess so..."

"And you said in your time that once a girl finished highschool, she has to decide what to do with her life?"

"Yeah..."

"And you decided not to go to that college thing... You decided to stay here with us... and... well, it's spring..." he trailed off. He seemed suddenly unable to look her in the eye.

He stopped and sighed, turning away, "Nevermind. I'm just being stupid."

"No, wait!" she said, grabbing his hand before he could run off, "I'm listening. You were saying I had fulfilled my duty..."

He nodded.

"So?..." she said, walking around him so she was facing him again.

"Well... that was why Kikiyo couldn't have a normal life... a family. She had a duty to protect the jewel. You were the same way, I guess. Couldn't live your normal life cause you had your duty, but now..." he trailed off.

Kagome held her breath, hoping she was right about where he was going with this, "Uh-huh."

"I guess what I'm saying is... would you..."

She couldn't take it anymore. She launched herself into his arms, gleefully proclaiming, "Of course I'll be your mate!"

He wrapped his arms around her, but he seemed stiff. _'Oh Kami... that was what he was going to ask wasn't it?' _she thought, pulling away and looking into his eyes. He looked startled and utterly baffled.

"Mate?" he asked. He said the word like one might say the word "rat".

"Um..."

A wicked grin spread across his features and bit his lip, but the laugh came out all the same, "For goodness sake, Kagome, you can't be serious! Mate? Who've you been talking to?"

"Well, don't youkai... mate?" she asked, covering her face with her hand to hide the blush. What a weird – and horrible - conversation this had turned into.

"Inu-youkai don't take mates!" he said between barks of laughter. Kagome felt like running into the woods and hiding while she cried her eyes out, but her feet wouldn't move.

_'Just let the ground open up and swallow me...'_ she though, closing her eyes tight against the tears. She opened them just in time to see him collapse onto the ground in a fit of laughter.

Suddenly she was boiling with rage, "Well how was I supposed to know?! The only other inu-youkai I've met is your brother, and I he's practically emotionless, and Kouga wanted me to be his mate, so I assumed it was a youkai thing... you know what, nevermind! Ugh! Osuwa..."

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, cutting her off just in time, "I'm sorry. You're right, you didn't know. Still..." he chuckled again, "Wolf youkai mate for life because it's in their wolf nature. Not all youkai take mates, and besides, I wasn't raise as a youkai. I'm the son of a noble-woman remember. I was raise in human traditions... my mate," he said snickering again, "I was going to ask if you would marry me!" he said, smiling, "You sure know how to make a guy stop being nervous."

Kagome gasped.

Inuyasha seemed to take her silence as a bad sign, because he suddenly began rambling, "So... um... like I was saying... Spring is the season for weddings... so it would... I mean, would you... um... you know?" he asked, his face turning a very deep shade of red, "I mean I know I don't have much to offer you, being... what I am, but..."

She sighed and put on hand on her hip. _'So much for a romantic proposal. Baka,'_ she thought, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face, "Of course, Inuyasha."

He looked at her for a long moment as though he didn't know exactly how to react, and then she was being swept up into his arms and spun around while the young man laughed happily.

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"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" screached kagome's grandfather, "I STRICTLY FORBID IT!"

"What?" asked Inuyasha. This was not what he'd expected.

"You are not under any circumstances running off with my granddaughter," said the old man, poking a finger into the shocked and angry hanyou's chest.

"Why not, old man? What's your problem?" he asked, but inside he was thinking, _'Oh man, what am I gonna do? I didn't think it would matter to them. They never minded it before, but I guess having a hanyou for a son-in-law is a little too much. Kagome, say something.' _

He glanced at her and lost it when he saw Kagome and her mother nodded in agreement, "Hmm... he's right. It wouldn't be proper," said the miko. He swore he felt his heart breaking.

"You listen close, boy. You will have the ceremony here, in the family shrine, and it will be a proper Shinto ceremony. None of this 'the old woman can do it' nonsense. If you want to marry my granddaughter, you will do it properly!" said grandpa, "And Kagome is to be allowed to come back for regular visits, particularly after she has children."

Inuyasha just stared at him, trying to process what had just happened. Meanwhile, the old man aheaded into the living-room muttering under their breath about kids having no respect for tradition.

"Did that just happen?" asked Inuyasha, turning to look at Kagome.

Kagome just laughed.

Mrs. Higerashi took that moment to step up to Kagome and Inuyasha and give them a hug. When she finally pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.

"Kagome," she said, smiling at her daughter and then at the young hanyou, "Inuyasha, I have a favor to ask."

"Ok," said Inuyasaha, figuring she wanted them to run to the store or something.

"I want you to help me look for my husband. He should be at the wedding."

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It was Kagome's turn to look shocked and confused, "Your husband? Do you mean Daddy?" she asked, her voice quivering. She hadn't seen her father since... well since Souta was born. She'd only been four years old then. She didn't even remember his name, because no one ever talked about him. No one outside the family seemed to have known him very well... but hadn't he died?

Mrs. Higerashi nodded.

After a long silence, Inuyasha turned his back on the two women and crossed his arms, gazing out the window, "Ok, so where is he and how do we find him?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure where he is, but he should be pretty easy to find for the two of you. His name is Ran..." she said. She seemed to want to say more, but didn't. Instead she placed the nuckled of her finger in her mouth and nibbled it nervously.

"Ran..." said Inuyasha softly, "Wolf."

She gasped and looked at him, her eyes wide and sparkling with a strange emotion, "How did you know?" asked the woman in a quivering voice.

"Know what, Momma?" asked Kagome, suddenly curious. She hadn't quite made out what Inuyasha had said, but her mother seemed shaken.

"That Ran was a wolf..."

The silence was so thick, Kagome felt like she was choking on it.

"You mean that his name means wolf, right, woman?" asked Inuyasha.

"No... I mean, yes, it does, but... Oh!" she pulled a chair out from the table and sat, gesturing for them to do the same. They sat down and waited for the woman to continue.

"Kagome, did you ever wonder why when you brought a hanyou home that I acted so calm, or why grandpa accepted Inuyasha so quickly after his initial fit?" she asked.

The girl shook her head. It hadn't actually occurred to her to ask why. She'd just been relieved that they took it all so well.

"It's because he's not the first hanyou we've seen... Ran...your father was half wolf-youkai," she said quickly. Kagome and Inuyasha stayed quiet, the latter because he was thinking this over very hard and the former because she'd suddenly forgotten _how_ to think.

The woman continued quickly, "He actually looked a lot like you, Inuyasha, only he had red hair and blue eyes... and he usually went for blue jeans and a t-shirt," she said with a small smirk.

"Ok..." said Inuyasha, "So where is he, why did he leave his wife and family behind, and how do we find him?"

Mrs. Higerashi sighed heavily before responding, relieved that he was taking this so well, "I don't know where he is, but I can tell he's somewhere to the west, and not in the city. When wolf youkai and hanyou bond, a sort of link is formed, so they can find one another. Ran said it was something to do with keeping the pack together. As for why he left, he said something about birds and a mountain and helping his grandmother, so wherever he is, it's likely with his grandmother's pack. I don't know why he hasn't returned, but I know he's alive... somewhere."

"Do you know his grandmother's name or the name of her tribe?" asked Inuyasha. Youkai lived a long time. Maybe his grandmother was someone they'd known back in his time.

"Not her tribe, but I think her name was, Ai-oh-mae or something," said Mrs. Higerashi softly.

Kagome had been staring at her lap, but when she heard this, her head snapped up and she stared at her mother, her heart in her throat, "Do you mean Ayame?"

"Oh yes. That was it," said the woman with a smile.

Inuyasha and Kagome just stared at each other.


	2. Hanyou Magic

'_He really is amazing,' _she thought, pressing her face against his back as they soared from rooftop to rooftop. She was sure the people below saw nothing but a blur as they passed overhead. It felt like flying except for the tiny lurching feeling when his foot hit a rooftop and propelled them back into the blue Tokyo sky.

Kagome didn't even have time to register what happened. One minute they were in midair and the next, she and Inuyasha were sprawled on a rooftop. She could feel cuts all along her side where she had slid over debris, but none of them seemed too serious. She wasn't worried about that. What worried her was the group of scary looking men that surrounded them, each with a slender sword at their hip. There were five of them, each wearing what might have been either a school uniform or a business suit without the jacket, but their hairstyles looked like those you'd see on a biker gang. They all looked similar, and all had the same shocking silver-white hair. She could sense a startling amount of youki around each of them, and she quickly shuffled to Inuyasha's side.

"What are you doing in our territory?" growled one to Kagome's left. His hair was short and styled into a bristly mohawk. He took one menacing step toward her, and Inuyasha was instantly on his feet between them, starting the man down with claws extended.

Kagome was surprised when a lanky one with a long white braid held up his hand, gesturing for them to stop, "Be calm, Kiro. You disgrace yourself. We do not know what their intentions are," he said. He had an eerie calm about him, and Kagome thought it was almost familiar. Kagome turned her eyes back toward the one called Kiro and gasped. For a moment out of the corner of her eye, she thought she'd seen white dog ears on top of his head, but when she looked at him, they were gone.

"Anyone wanna explain what the hell is going on here?" shouted Inuyasha gruffly.

"I apologize for my brother's behavior," said the one with the braid. He seemed to be the leader, "I asked him to stop you and ask why you were in our territory. I did not expect him to knock you out of the air," he said, pinning his brother with a venomous look. Now Kagome was certain he reminded her of someone.

"Who are you?" asked Kagome, stepping out from behind her fiance.

"I am Yuki, Lord of the city of Tokyo, eldest son of the dog lord of the west," he said in a nearly emotionless way that oozed overstated dignity and self-righteousness.

Kagome gaped, _'Oh great, just what we needed!'_ she thought, but Inuyasha didn't seem to make the connection. He growled and drew Tetsaiga, "Well, I don't care who your father is, I can still tear you apart."

Tetsaiga transformed in his hand, and all five men stepped back. They looked surprised, but none of them reached for their swords, which surprised Kagome. She was even more surprised when the five of them, including the previously hostile Kiro, knelt respectfully and placed one hand on their chest in salute.

"We are sorry, Uncle. We did not realize it was you," said Yuki. He cast a glance at Kagome and... smiled. The effect was amazing, making him seem like a totally different man, "And you must be the lady Kagome. Kami, I can't wait to tell mom" he said happily before breaking into a hearty laugh.

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Kagome sat on the edge of the building while Yuki chatted on his cell phone with his mother, "Yeah I know, but it really is them. Dad is gonna have a heart attack... yeah, she's here," he said happily, then held the phone out toward Kagome, "She wants to talk to you."

Kagome took the phone and placed it against her ear, "Hello?"

"KAGOMGE-CHAN!?" came the shrill cry from the other end of the phone. Kagome held the phone a little further away.

"Rin?"

"Uh-huh! Oh Kagome, I can't believe it's really you! I haven't heard from you in almost five hundred years! We thought you were dead!" said the woman happily.

Kagome didn't really know what to say to that comment. Luckily she didn't have to say anything.

"You really must come see me, Kagome. We have so much catching up to do, and I'm sure Sesshoumaru wouldn't object too much to having Inuyasha over. He's mellowed out a lot since Yuki was born...," she chirpped. Kagome felt her eyes glazing over as Rin went on about her family for several long minutes, seemingly without every taking a breath, "So do you think you can come?"

"Oh... well, I don't think we can right now... We're kind of on our way to Wolf Mountain," she said, casting Inuyasha a soothing smile. He could apparently hear everything the other woman was saying and it made him uncomfortable for some reason.

"Oh okay, well some other time then. Call me any time, Kagome-chan. I don't want it to be another five hundred years before I hear from you again," said Rin, "Could you give the phone back to Yuki, please?"

Kagome complied.

He was silent for several minutes, apparently taking some sort of instructions from his mother.

"hmm...no...no... yes, but... of course...No, he doesn't have a concealment on right now... okay... okay... love you too, Momma. Bye." he said, flipping the phone shut, "Sorry about that," he said with an apologetic smile, "She's a real talker."

"What did she mean about me having a concealment?" asked Inuyasha curiously.

Yuki turned to him with a surprised look on his face, "You mean you don't even know what a concealment is?"

Kagome and Inuyasha both shook their heads.

Yuki stared at them for a moment and then began scratching his head, apparently deep in thought, "Well, I guess we better go see Ohara then. Follow me."

Yuki leapt high into the air, heading toward the outer edge of the city. His brothers followed close behind him. Inuyasha knelt to allow Kagome to get on his back before racing after them.

Much to Kagome's puzzlement, they came to a stop at a small shrine, not unlike the one Kagome lived in. Several girls in traditional priestess robes moved about cleaning or doing various other duties. Among them was a tall woman with long white hair that came nearly to her ankles. She was carrying a bucket of water and a mop, which she sat down as soon as the group landed in the yard.

"What is going on, brother?" she asked, running to Yuki.

"We need you to create a concealment," he said as he pulled her into a warm hug.

She looked over his shoulder, spying Inuyasha for the first time, "Ah, yes," she muttered, "I hope you will all stay for dinner. Ichigo has offered to make her famous fried chicken for dinner tonight."

"Fried chicken?! I love fried chicken!" said another of Yuki's men, who had his hair done in a mass of tiny braids which were pulled back in a thong at the base of his neck, and at the moment, his eyes were the size of saucers and his mouth was hanging open as though he could already taste the promised food. The look on his face was not unlike the one Inuyasha got when ramen was mentioned, and Kagome chuckled along with the rest of them at his excitement.

"I knew you'd like that, Haru," said Ohara with a grin. Kagome felt a pang of jealousy at how stunningly beautiful the woman was.

The silver haired woman hugged each of the men in turn, muttering their names under her breath. Kagome listened carefully, trying to remember everyone's names. Yuki, Kiro and Haru (which it turned out was short for Hatsuharu), she already knew. The other two, one with a somewhat feminine face and short hair that protruded barely a half-inch from the top of his head and the other who was sort of gruff looking with a long ponytail trailing down his spine, were called Kiyoshi and Maemi. Then the woman turned to Kagome and Inuyasha, curiousity written all over her delicate face.

"You have the look of our clan about you, stranger. May I know your name?" she asked in a smooth tone.

"It's Inuyasha," he said with his arms crossed, "And this is Kagome."

Kagome started to say that she could introduce herself, but stopped. This was no time to start a fight. She simply bowed slightly to the woman and smiled.

When she heard Inuyasha's name, the woman seemed surprised, but it lasted only a moment, and then her serene expression returned, "Ah, yes. That does explain the resemblance. Welcome to the Toyama shrine. I am Toyama Ohara, head priestess. It is a pleasure to meet you."

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Kagome took another bite of the chicken and sighed happily. Aside from the occasional burger at McDonald's, she'd never had American food before. This "pan fried chicken" was amazing, and the stuff called "cornbread" and "snap beans" weren't bad either.

"Tell me Uncle, how have you managed this whole time without any sort of concealment spell?" asked the man called Maemi.

"Um... I wear a hat."

"Huh," said the man, then he chuckled, "Simple but effective I guess."

"Still, it won't hurt to have a concealment in place," said Ohara, "I will put one in place for you after dinner."

Kagome pushed her food away and wiped her mouth before speaking to Ohara, "Forgive my asking, but how can you be a miko and a hanyou? Don't your youki and your reiki conflict with each other?"

Ohara smiled and shook her head, "No, in fact they compliment each other. That is what makes hanyous so powerful. The blending of the two powers not only allows us all the abilities of our youkai and human sides, but some other abilities as well. For instance only a hanyou miko can do illusion and healing spells," explained the woman, "From what you have told us, I would say your youkai blood is a large part of why you are so powerful yourself. You have a small amount of youki that compliments and enhances your reiki."

"You think so?" asked Kagome.

"I am almost certain," replied the white haired miko, "I would like to teach you a few spells before you leave. They may come in handy, and it might take you years to discover them for yourself."

"I would like that," said Kagome, smiling brightly.

Ohara nodded, "I think you particularly enjoy the true sight spell. It will allow you to see through illusions and is fairly simple to do."

Kagome sat up straighter and nodded, waiting for instructions.

"Put up a small barrier over the surface of your eyes. It should be light and permiable, just barely there," she waited until Kagome nodded that she had understood and complied, "Now feed into it a small amount of purifying reiki. Once you've finished, you should be able to see our true forms."

Kagome fed a small amount of her purifying energy into the tiny contact-lense-like barriers and gasped. She looked around the table at the six siblings. They had appeared human but for their white hair, but now their human ears had shifted to the top of their heads and turned into white velvet triangles just like Inuyasha's, and their eyes were all a shocking shade of amber except for Ohara, whose were shining silver blue.

Ohara smiled, "You learn fast. It took my daughter three days to learn to do that. The last thing you need to do is anchor it in place using your youki. Close your eyes and feel the flow of energy within you. In the base of your stomach there should be a knot of power. It may appear a different color to your inner eye."

"It's green," said Kagome in confirmation.

Ohara nodded, "It is different for each clan. My daughter and I have orange youki," she said softly, "Notice that it strands of energy flow between it and the center of your reiki near your heart. Some flowing into it and others out. Now, take hold of one of those strands flowing out of your youki and redirect it so that it flows from your youki to your sight barrier and back to your reiki. This will complete the circuit and stabilize the spell. Have you done this?"

Kagome opened her eyes and took a deep breath, "I think so."

"If you can still see us without having to focus on your spell, then you have done it correctly." replied Ohara, "All hanyou specific spells are done this way. The circuit is what makes our power so powerful and allows us to hold spells in place. You can also anchor spells to other hanyous using their own energy if they do not have the ability to channel it themselves."

Kagome smiled. This was amazing.


End file.
